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Cyprus PIO: News Update in English, 03-09-25
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
[01]Thursday, 25 September 2003 President Papadopoulos holds series of
meetings on sidelines of UN General Assembly
[02] Foreign Minister continues meetings with counterparts in New
York
[01] President Papadopoulos holds series of meetings on sidelines of UN
General Assembly
The President of the Republic, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, held a series of
meetings yesterday in New York, on the sidelines of the 58th UN General
Assembly. Yesterday morning, Mr Papadopoulos met with the US State
Department's Special Coordinator for Cyprus, Mr Thomas Weston, with whom he
assessed the current situation as regards efforts to reach a settlement of
the Cyprus problem and discussed prospects for resuming the UN-led peace
talks. "American officials allocate little significance to the results of
the "elections" that will be held in the occupied areas in December. In a
way, their position is that there is no possibility or a sign of resuming
the negotiations until December and that the issue will depend upon the
outcome of the voting", Mr Papadopoulos said in remarks to the press later
yesterday. Following his meeting with Mr Weston, the President met with
members of the Editorial Board of the New York Times newspaper, whom he
briefed on the current phase of the Cyprus problem and underlined the
readiness of the Greek Cypriot side to resume negotiations for a solution
on the basis of the UN Secretary-General's peace plan.
Mr Papadopoulos also met with the UN Secretary-General's Adviser on Cyprus,
Mr Alvaro de Soto, in view of his meeting today with the UN Secretary-
General, Mr Kofi Annan. During the meeting, the deliberations that had led
to the drafting and submission of the Annan plan were reviewed and various
provisions of the plan itself were discussed.
Mr de Soto expressed doubt over the possibility of a resumption of the
talks any time soon and said the issue was connected to the voting
procedure in the occupied areas of the island as well as the outcome of
that procedure. "I have the impression that Mr de Soto accepts the fact
that there is no possibility of finding a settlement and conducting
substantial negotiations while Mr Denktash remains negotiator of the
Turkish Cypriot community. We both expressed the position that Turkey could
replace Mr Denktash if it wanted to", President Papadopoulos noted speaking
to the press. Mr Papadopoulos also had consecutive meetings yesterday with
his counterparts form Algeria and Senegal and with the Prime Minister of
Kuwait. "I explained to them that the Cyprus problem is not an issue of a
religious clash between Christians and Muslims in Cyprus and I asked for
their assistance, as all three countries participate in the Islamic
Conference, in order for Mr Denktash's status at the forthcoming Islamic
Conference not to be upgraded like the latter is requesting every year", he
noted. In addition, the President met with the Maltese Premier, Mr Edward
Fenech, the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Mr Ahmed Maher El-Sayed, and
Russia's Permanent UN Representative, Mr Sergey Lavrov, on the fringes of
the General Assembly at UN Headquarters.
[02] Foreign Minister continues meetings with counterparts in New
York
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Georgios Iacovou, held separate talks
yesterday with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain,
Tunisia and Libya, within the framework of his meetings with foreign
counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Mr Iacovou informed his counterparts on the current situation regarding
efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, noting that according to the
relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Secretary-General's latest
report on Cyprus, the Turkish side had been deemed responsible for the
present impasse. He also briefed them on Cyprus' EU accession course and
presented a document outlining the Cyprus Government's positions on the
Cyprus problem in view of the forthcoming Islamic Conference to be held in
Malaysia. Foreign Minister Iacovou further requested that his counterparts'
governments exercise their influence at the Islamic Conference to ensure
that the resolution to be adopted on Cyprus would reflect the reality of
the situation and be in line with the relevant UN Security Council
resolutions.
From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/
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